Page:Lancashire Legends, Traditions, Pageants, Sports, Etc., with an Appendix Containing a Rare Tract.djvu/217

 by the husband or the next of kin. In murder, the appeal is given to the wife, on account of the loss her husband; and therefore, if she marries again before or pending her appeal, the appeal is gone. But if there should be no wife, or she herself be implicated or suspected, the appeal devolves upon the next heir-male of the murdered ancestor.

DOING PENANCE IN THE FYLDE. half a century ago, says Mr Thomber, in 1837, the frail member, the victim of the seducer, did public penance within Poulton Church; and, barefoot, clothed in white, with a lighted candle in each hand, she had to pass along the aisles, a spectacle of mirth and jeering to an unfeeling crowd. Jane Breckul was the last to undergo this painful exhibition at Poulton; for the cries of this unfortunate girl, melting the hearts of the well-disposed, raised a clamour against it, which led to its discontinuance. A woman who died only last year (1836) was the last offender who performed this penance in the church of Bispham, and stood upon a stool, the remains of which, till lately, might be seen in the belfry of the ancient tower.

 STANG RIDING. practice of what is locally termed "stang riding" was practised in Lancashire some forty years' ago. When a man or woman is detected in an act of unfaithfulness, a framework of two long poles is procured, across which is placed a flat board, to serve as a seat. The person who has offended is then caught by the crowd, and tied fast to the seat with cords. A procession is then formed, and the culprit is carried aloft on the shoulders of four men, attended by a crowd, who